Am I Better Off?
by Vietta
Summary: How Reno became Axel and found Roxas. A really sucky synopsis I know, I really can't work with summaries well, ya know?Rating has been changed because I can't make a multi-chaptered story without adding some adult parts anymore.
1. Chapter 1

Reno and Elena ran, not knowing just how they would make it out of this alive. They had already been separated from Tseng and Rude and it was just getting hard to outrun the black monsters swarming around them. Reno had given up trying to fight them a long time ago. Elena still fired as they ran, trying to take out as many as possible, but Reno knew it was worthless to try. The things would just come in greater numbers, attracted by the remains of their fellows.

They found an abandoned hotel, most things were abandoned here, and they went inside. They ran up several flights of stairs before finally hiding in a room near a pool. Reno had figured out that water seemed to deter the creatures and he hoped it would work now.

"H-how ya f-fee-feeling Laney." Reno panted, clutching the stitch in his side.

"I-I don't know." She panted just as heavily. "Tseng and Rude?"

"No idea." Reno sat on the floor rubbing his tired legs.

"Do you think they might be-" Elena began, but Reno cut her off.

"Don't think about that. There's no way a few of those...those....._things_ could kill a Turk." Reno said crossly.

"But Reno they were _covered_ in them! I've seen that happen before and you know nothing good happens once they get you like that!" Elena sank to the floor beside Reno and began to cry. "Rude...Tseng...they're-"

Reno cut her off again, "I know what they probably are Elena. That doesn't mean I'm going to just _accept_ that fact." _Yet._ He added to himself. "They could have made it out, they've been in worse situations than this."

"But never with creatures like these!" Elena wrapped her arms around her knees and cried weakly into them. "Reno these creatures go after your _heart!_ How can we fight them when we can barely hurt them? Guns won't work! Everytime we kill one it's like five more come!"

Reno wrapped his arms around her small frame, giving her a hug that he hoped was consoling. "Their hearts were strong Elena, they couldn't have just been taken like that."

They sat in silence, Elena still crying and Reno holding her tighter to try and convince her that there was hope left, even though in reality he had none himself.

They could hear scratching at the door and they bolted upright, pulling out their weapons. They could tell that the things..the heartless things were trying to break the door in as they heard heavy slams on the other side. Reno looked around, trying to find an exit, but the hotel had no balcony to leap from, no back door to run though, not even a window to throw themselves out of.

"Reno." Elena said timidly, her voice almost asking a question as the tears continued to fall down her face.

"I know Laney." Reno knew it would be impossible for them to make it out of this alive. It would take a miracle, but since Reno didn't believe in any God's miracles seemed like an even greater impossibility. "We'll go out fighting if we go out at all."

Elena nodded. "I don't want to die." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but through the splintering noises the door made Reno was able to hear her.

"Me neither." Reno flicked on his EMR, "Let's make sure we take a few out with us." He gave her a cocky smile that she timidly and fearfully returned. He would make sure she had hope until the last second, he wanted her to see him fighting for his life, to see how many he killed and he wanted her to see that they could make it out, even if he knew otherwise. He wanted to at least try to get her out alive, even if he died in the process.

The door finally gave way and heartless spilled into the room, swarming over them as they tried to force their way out of the room.

When Reno woke up his first thoughts were for his fellow Turks. _Laney?........Rude?......Tseng?.....even Rufus would be a welcome sight right now! PLease just let someone be here when I open my eyes! _Then again, in his mind being alive might just be the worst possible thing to ever happen to him.

He sat up and groaned. His body hurt, everywhere, yet it didn't feel like it was his pain he was dealing with. Almost as if the body beneath him didn't hurt and the pain was outside him, almost like it was a separate being entirely that was seeping through his skin. He swept a hand through his hair and paused, his hair didn't feel right. He ran his hands along his face, that didn't feel right either. He looked down at his body, noticing that he might as well be nude with how tattered his clothes were, he also noticed his skin wasn't damaged at all. He looked around, he had somehow ended up in the pool room of the hotel. He couldn't see Elena anywhere. He bent over the water, fearing she might have fallen in and drowned, and then he saw his reflection and screamed. His face was not his own, his tattoos had changed from two swooping lines to two near triangular dashes under his eyes. His hair was a darker shade of red and his eyes seemed to be the only aspect of his face that remained unchanged. He heard a small noise behind him and whipped around, searching for the perpetrator of the sound.

"Elena?" He asked, his voice fearful.

"Reno?" She gaped openly, nothing seemed to be the same about her.

"Your face." Reno paused.

"Yours too." Elena bent over the pool and gave a scream similar to Reno's. She rounded on him, "What happened!?"

"I don't know! I just remember getting attacked by the heartless and everything going black and now here we are." Reno held his head in his hands.

Elena sat down with her back to the pool, trying to get the image of her new face out of her mind. "How are we going to explain this?"

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that Laney." He sighed heavily, "Everyone else we know is dead or left a long time ago and wouldn't give a damn."

She wrapped her arms around her knees. "How can you say that?"

"I can say it because it's true! Even our enemies are gone! Cloud and the others left with that freak Highwind months ago! Rude and Tseng died last night!" _Did it really only happen last night?_ It was so hard for Reno to take in the reality of what he was saying. "Rufus was on his deathbed when we left and considering the fact that those black blobs of shit don't give a damn about hospital manners he's probably been killed by now too. We are fucking alone Laney! There's no life left here! Look around! Open your eyes and take a good long damned look! It's all fucking gone!" Reno was standing up now, waving his arms as he raved. "I don't know about you but I'm pretty damned sure that even if someone was left I wouldn't want to try to explain this to them! I just wished the things had killed us and this was all done with! This nightmare is never going to fucking end Laney! We tried to protect this world, Rude and Tseng and countless others _died_ trying to do so so why couldn't we? Why can't we just have an honorable death?" Reno was starting to cry at the thought, he had known when they left Shinra the night before that they probably wouldn't be going back. He had expected to simply die though, to be taken back in a body bag if there were enough pieces of him left to need a bag. He hadn't wanted to be around to deal with this when the fighting was over, that meant he would have to face the truth that everyone was gone. He sat on the ground and groaned, a desperate low sound.

Elena looked up, she looked so unfamiliar to Reno, even her voice seemed different, "Do you really wish we were just dead Reno? Last night, when you were trying to comfort me, make me feel better, were you just trying to prepare me for death!?" She stood up hands balled into fists, tears that had started earlier now falling thickly down her face. "You said last night that they _couldn't_ be dead. That there was _hope!_" She was screaming now, "You were just trying to make sure we died thinking _good_ _thoughts_ didn't you? You know what happens when you die thinking _good_ _thoughts_ when those things get you? You fucking get left behind like we did! You aren't dead, you aren't alive, you aren't darkness, you aren't light, we're just fucking shells now! Without our hearts look how different we are!" She pointed at the pool where their reflections faced them in an almost accusing manner, "If you had simply let us die in fear and helplessness you would have gotten your death wish, but no, you had to go out like a fucking hero trying to fight for people and you had to drag me behind you!" Elena didn't know why this made her so mad, she had wanted to die last night, to simply let the things eat her alive like they had so many of her friends and loved ones but she had also wanted Reno to get out alive, she had wanted him to stay around and be able to help Rude and Tseng, where ever they could be. Now that she knew he hadn't meant a damn word about them being alive she was simply furious that she had fought like that. She couldn't explain why but it seemed like he had taken something from her in letting her go like that.

Reno simply sat with his head bowed, he raised a hand and gingerly touched his face, he knew this was his fault. He knew she was right, he had no response, no apology worthy to make what he had done alright. He had screwed them both, denied them the death they deserved and kept their souls around, he had to try and do one last noble thing and fight for Elena, try to keep her alive as long as possible. For once, he wished he was as cruel as everyone thought him to be. He wished that he could be the sly, sinister, cocky, arrogant bastard that everyone thought he was.

"I'm sorry Reno. That was uncalled for it's just, why couldn't we be dead too? Why can't we go to heaven? Why can't we just go somewhere other than here?" Elena's voice cracked and she lowered herself down to Reno's level and wrapped her arms around him, trying to get some comfort from him,

"There is no heaven for people taken by those things. There's just an _end." _ Reno rubbed the arms that wrapped around him, trying to make her feel better.

"Even just an end would be better than this." Elena sniffed.

"I know." Reno sighed.

They sat in silence for awhile, just trying to feel some kind of comfort from each other even though neither had any to spare. They didn't stir as they heard feet walk up to them, didn't move as a shadow fell across them. They barely even registered the fact that anyone had intruded on their solitude.

The man cleared his throat and Reno looked up reluctantly, "Yeah?"

"I'm guessing you've just been attacked by heartless?" The man said it nonchalantly enough but Reno could tell he was interested in their reactions.

"What was your first clue hmm?" Reno pushed Elena off him and stood up, he might be broken, tattered, and filthy, but he wasn't going to let someone look down at him.

"The clothes and your friend's sobbing." Reno looked at Elena and saw her hastily wipe away tears that he should have noticed her crying.

Reno looked back at the man, "Listen yo, we don't exactly need patronized right now, say what ya gotta say and we'll work on pleasantries afterwards."

"If you insist." The man flicked his hand over his shoulder and a large black doorway appeared from no-where. "I suggest however that we get to a location that isn't quite so open and get you and your friend some clothes. Then we can discuss my proposition."

Reno took in the man's appearance, trying to ignore the huge swirling black vortex behind him. His hair was blue, an eccentricity Reno didn't find unusual, he had seen and had weirder hair than that, the large X-shaped scar on the man's forehead, however, was a bit more intimidating. Reno had seen scars that were larger and even had a few of his own, but none were on his face. He also noticed that the man carried an aura of power around him, one that was accentuated by the fact that he could pull a _fucking vortex_ out of thin air with a flick of his fingers. He couldn't tell if he liked the man or not but he could tell that they would get off to a rough start, Reno didn't exactly mesh well with people who didn't like to be disobeyed or disrespected.

Reno nodded and pulled Elena off of the floor where she had been simply staring in awe at the black portal. She was shaky and he really hoped he wouldn't have to support her weight through the portal, she wasn't weak and he didn't want this man to think she could be taken lightly.

The man extended his hand and gave Elena a smile, which she returned weakly before taking his hand. _The fuck?_ Reno thought as they walked through the portal. He had never seen Elena look so nervous before, but then again, he knew it probably had something to do with the fact that the man had amazing power and he might not be a girl, but he had to admit this guy was attractive.

Just before he entered the portal he looked back over his shoulder, giving a fleeting glance to a world he doubted he would ever want to see again. He sighed and walked through the portal with his head held high, preparing himself for whatever surprises might be on the other side.

Authors Note: I know that Reno isn't Axel's original self, I know that Elena isn't Larxene's original self. I know this isn't how SquareEnix said it happened. I also know that if anyone wants to flame at me about it it's pretty darned wasted effort because I'll just ignore ya alrighty? Reviews are super awesome and make me happy inside so please, review.


	2. Chapter 2

Reno emerged to find himself in a brilliantly white room. The intensity of the color blinded him and he stayed motionless for a moment letting his eyes adjust. Once he could see again he saw the Elena had new clothes on and that the blue haired man was bringing him some as well.

"These should fit you." The man shoved the clothes into Reno's hands and left him and Elena alone.

"Pushy ain't he?" Reno chuckled dryly as he peeled off the remains of his Turk uniform.

"You're just mad because he's tougher than you are." Elena countered as she turned towards the wall to give Reno some semblance of privacy.

"Not denying that one." Reno laughed as he pulled on his new clothes. "He's got quite the decorator though eh?"

"What's wrong with white?" Elena asked, still facing the wall.

"Makes it seem like he's trying to act all clean and pure. That right there lets ya know he's anything but." Reno buttoned up the black shirt he was given about halfway. "You can stop glaring at the wall now Laney."

Elena turned around, "Why are you judging someone you don't even know?"

"Because I can and because if you remember that's what's gotten us out of quite a few sticky spots in the past my trusting little friend." Reno threw her a cocky smile as she scowled.

"You're full of shit you know that?" Elena practically growled the words at him.

Reno smiled, "Pissed because my logic is sound are we?"

"Your logic can kiss my ass." Elena glared at him.

"Don't tempt me Laney-poo." Reno crooned.

Elena laughed, "Smart-ass."

The blue haired man walked back in, "Follow me."

"Before we do that," Reno held out an arm to stop Elena from following the order, "Can we get a name?"

"Saïx, your names?" Saïx seemed a bit ruffled by Reno's cocky attitude.

"I'm Reno, this is Elena. Pleased ta meet ya." Reno gave a sloppy salute and let Elena past him to follow Saïx through a large white door.

"I have a few acquaintances that will be able to explain what happened to you in simpler and hopefully kinder terms than I can manage." Saïx spoke in a rather business-like fashion that reminded Reno of Tseng. "There are ten of us here that have undergone the same process."

"How often does it usually happen?" Elena asked as she openly surveyed the hall.

"It happens often, yet most people don't come out of it the way we have. As I said earlier, the other members of our organization can explain this to you in more depth than I want too." Saïx led them through another doorway.

"Organization?" Reno kept himself at a good distance from Saïx as he followed.

"Yes. Organization Thirteen." Saïx knocked on a large door that looked like it was made of marble.

"But you only have ten members?" Reno made a mental note of Saïx's hesitation to just enter the room like he had the others.

"That is soon to be remedied if everything goes according to plan." The door was opened and they were led inside.

Reno kept his mouth shut as he surveyed what he could only describe as a throne room. There were thirteen chairs but not all of them were filled and they were all different heights. The occupied chairs held people that made Reno feel normal. They all wore black cloaks and every last one of them seemed to have a vivid hair color, ranging the entire color spectrum. Reno also noticed the large variety of weapons casually held by the members of the Organization.

The silver haired man on the tallest throne spoke, "It is good to see that you have made it here almost completely intact."

"What do you mean _almost_ completely intact?" Reno gave the man a look of genuine confusion.

"You were attacked by the heartless yes? What did you think they took from you?" The man was patient and patronizing. Reno simply shrugged nonchalantly. "You're missing your hearts, vital pieces to your internal puzzles." The man smiled wryly as he continued, "I would like to welcome you two to our Organization if you'd permit me."

"Depends on what your Organization is about. Even I have a low point I won't go past." Reno stuffed his hands in his pockets as he tried not to feel like a small child under the man's gaze.

"Our goal is to unlock the mysteries of the heart. In doing so we hope to find a way to reclaim what was rightfully ours." The man held a hand over his chest as he spoke, almost as if he could feel the hole left in his chest from his heart. Reno couldn't feel shit where his heart used to be. Not even an empty space.

"So what do we have to do to join?" Elena butted in, tired of Reno talking for her.

"Prove that you can take direction and make yourselves useful." Xemnas's eerie grin was starting to put Reno on edge.

"What happens when we prove ourselves _useful." _Reno sneered.

"You'll be put to use of course." Xemnas grinned and Reno frowned before giving a curt nod. He was unnerved by the chilly false smiles on the faces of the people around him. They looked..._hungry_.

**Author's Note: Sorry this is so short and sorry it took so long. I hope to be more punctual with later chapters.**


	3. Chapter 3

"So _Axel."_ Elena sneered. "I _forgot _to ask you about it but I thought Rude was supposed to be the pyro?"

Reno gave her his most degrading smile, "You didn't _forget _to ask and my answer is the same as it was last time. I thought I was supposed to be the sparky one?"

"So boring." Elena frowned and walked away, giving up on pestering him for the moment. Reno laid back, missing Rude and hating his new name even more. They had had their new names for months now but Reno still couldn't identify himself with the name Axel. He had gotten used to calling Elena Larxene but he still slipped and called her Laney every now and again. Everytime he did she would hit him or electrocute him so he tried to avoid her as much as he possibly could so she didn't get the opportunity. He couldn't stand staying in the castle for long periods of time and Xemnas hadn't given him a mission in weeks. He was starting to go crazy with a mixture of boredom and loneliness despite the fact that he was surrounded by people and had the constant opportunity for activity. His main issue was who the people were and the fact that most of the activities were inside the castle.

"Hey Axel." Xigbar loomed over him, "What're you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Reno placed his hands behind his head.

"Looks like you're being anti-social." Xigbar frowned down at him.

"I like my alone time." Reno lied.

Xigbar huffed haughtily, "You're just bein' a prick ya know that?"

Reno shrugged, "I've been called worse."

Xigbar poked him in the side, "Come train."

"Why?" Reno raised an eyebrow and rubbed his side.

"It'll give you something to do." Xigbar all but dragged him off the ledge he was laying on.

"Whatever you say I guess." Reno let himself be dragged away.

Xigbar walked to a nearby doorway and held up a card, grinning as the door glowed and opened. "How about a practice session in Hollow Bastion?"

"Sounds fine to me." Reno shrugged.

"Why so apathetic Axel?" Xigbar shoulder his gun as he walked through the portal.

Reno waited until he was through to answer, "My best friend is dead, the one friend I thought I had left has suddenly become a total bitch and slut, if I ever _do_ meet anyone I used to know they won't recognize me and if they do they'll try to kill me. I think apathy is the least of our worries."

"So depressing Ten." Xigbar shook his head.

"Like you care." Reno laughed. "You can't feel a damn thing either."

Xigbar chuckled, "True, can't feel a damn thing." He clicked his fingers and summoned up a slew of heartless and nobodies for them to vanquish.

By the time they were done Reno was feeling pleasantly tired, as pleasant as he could feel anyways. He went back to his ledge and laid down, arms behind his head, and contemplated the workings of his now lost heart. He wondered if it missed him as much as he missed it.

**Author's Note: I know this is really short and angsty, please forgive me! *dodges rotten fruit and chairs* Also sorry for how long it took me to write this. If you noticed Reno's starting to rise through the ranks in the organization, he's now number 10. Go Reno/Axel!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey nine!" Xigbar was bothering Reno, again. He seemed to take great joy in pestering the red-head.

"The names Axel, got it memorized?" Reno snarled irritably. He hated his name, but he hated his number more. Being below someone as clumsy as Demyx was degrading as hell and he took it as a personal insult. It was better than when he was under the alcoholic idiot Luxord, but not by much.

"Yeah sure whatever, have you seen Saïx?" Xigbar plunked Reno on the forehead, trying to rouse him from the ledge that had become his spot.

"Never seen the man in my life." Reno chuckled, "Try again later, I might decide to recognize him the next time he passes me while trying to avoid you."

"He's not avoiding me!" Xigbar whined, hands on his hips.

"Whatever." Reno shrugged. It was common knowledge that Saïx was trying to get rid of Xigbar, Larxene was hanging on him enough and offering him enough sex to make him eager to dump the clingy sniper. Elena had taken a new personality with her new name and had begun whoring herself out to anyone who seemed likely to take her. It had been a long time since Reno had thought of her by her real name, her new lifestyle so very different from the sweet and mild-mannered Elena he remembered.

"You're a bastard Axel, ya know that?" Xigbar stomped off in a huff.

"Wrong way Xigbar." Reno sniggered, enjoying Xigbar's anger as much as a Nobody could.

Xigbar spun around, "You said you hadn't seen him!"

"I lied." Reno shrugged, standing up. As much as he enjoyed watching Xigbar fume he liked seeing Saïx cringe more, he knew exactly where the blue-haired man was and exactly what, or whom, he was with.

"Well where is he?" Xigbar stomped up to Reno, hands on his hips.

"I'll be nice and take ya to him." Reno started walking, "Don't get used to the courtesy."

"No worries there." Xigbar snorted, following the moody red-head at a distance.

Reno walked into the training room, a smile on his face as he saw exactly what he had been hoping to find. "Yo Saïx, why you suckin' face on Larxene?"

Saïx and Larxene looked up, horror written plainly on their faces as they tried to cover themselves. Xigbar stood behind Reno, mouth gaping open, "You cheating asshole!"

"Axel you bastard! I told you not to tell him!" Saïx glared daggers at Reno.

"Didn't tell him, I showed him." Reno sniggered, shoving Xigbar forward and leaving the room with a sloppy salute, "I'll leave you guys alone to clean up this mess."

"How could you do this to me Saïx? And with her! She's the group whore!" Xigbar screamed, pulling a gun out of thin air and aiming it and the quickly dressing pair.

"What did you call me?" Larexene shouted as Reno left the room, laughing loudly. He heard gun shots and the wonderful crackle of electricity as chaos erupted in the room behind him.

"Axel." Reno spun around, pulling a chakram out of the air.

Reno relaxed, "Oh, Superior." He let his weapon fade back into nothingness, "What can I do for you?"

Xemnas strode up to him, "I need you to pick someone up for me."

"Pick someone up?" Reno scratched his head, confused. Usually he was being asked to kill people, not deliver them. At least, not deliver them alive.

"A new nobody, the keybearer has just turned into a heartless. His nobody is our next member." Xemnas smirked arrogantly.

"And you're having _me_ pick him up?" Reno raised an eyebrow.

"This mission will get you your next rank. I know you hate being under Demyx." Xemnas humphed patronizingly.

Reno grinned, "You know me too well. Where can I find him?"

"Hallow Bastion. The keybearer's friends are still there. Don't alert them to your presence." Xemnas warned sternly.

Reno pulled a vortex up behind his back and faded through it, "Don't worry about it, I got it memorized!"

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**Author's Note: Hopefully I can start writing more on this, sorry for being so late and so short with my updates!**


	5. Chapter 5

Reno stared at the large castle in front of him, "Where to start?" He mused aloud, scratching his head as he held a conversation with himself. "I really should learn to finish gettin' the info before I just jump into this stuff. I don't even know where the hell to start lookin' for this kid!" He sighed and began walking forward when a voice behind him made him turn around.

"It's like you're jumping out of a plane without a parachute Axel." Demyx chuckled.

"I've done that before, except it was a helicopter." Reno grinned, remembering the incident fondly. He'd broken a few bones but he'd won the bet he'd made with Rude, and despite Rude wanting to kill him for taking his idea at a joke seriously he had enjoyed the experience. Falling was about as close to flying as he had ever gotten without a helicopter or plane. He felt a hollow pang through his chest as he remembered his best friend, something he knew would have made him cry if he still had a heart. "Ya know Demyx, somewhere out there my heart is crying."

Demyx snorted, "Sure whatever Axel. Wanna know why I'm here?"

"I figured Xemnas had just sent you to tag along." Reno shrugged nonchalantly, not really caring why Demyx had decided to show up.

"Good guess but not quite." Demyx wagged a patronizing finger in Reno's face.

"Gonna enlighten me then?" Reno crossed his arms in front of his chest, fighting the urge to slap the obnoxious brunette's hand out of his face.

"Course I am." Demyx laughed happily, "Superior wanted me to tell you where the kid was since you decided to run off before he could give you all the details."

"So where is he?" Reno asked, trying to patiently tolerate Demyx's antics.

"He's in the basement." Demyx walked towards the water that soaked the bottom of the castle entrance, "Superior said you need to make him _want_ to be part of our group, he has to like you enough to want to join up. He says he might not know anything 'cause the kid's original self isn't a heartless anymore."

"He's not a heartless anymore?" Reno raised an eyebrow, he'd never heard of anyone being able to change back.

"That's what I said isn't it?" Demyx crouched down and traced his fingers through the water.

"How is that possible?" Reno stroked his chin, suddenly confused by the entire situation.

"Don't do that Axel, you look like Zexion when you do that." Demyx laughed, immersing his arm in the water, "And how should I know how he did it? I haven't done it so I can't tell ya."

Reno frowned and pulled his hand away from his face, "Kid's in the basement, get him to like me, stop touching my face, anything else you got to say?"

Demyx looked up from the water, "Don't get caught. We're still in trouble with the dragon-witch for the last time we messed with her business."

Reno snorted, "Fine, keep my head down and get the kid to like me. Has he got a name?"

"I don't know ask him when you get him!" Demyx laughed, playing with a small watery rabbit he had created.

Reno rolled his eyes and shot a ball of fire and the liquid rabbit hoping around Demyx, smiling as it sizzled, "Get going then."

Demyx whined, "You destroyed it!"

"If you've got nothing else to say then leave." Reno warningly formed another ball of fire in his palm.

Demyx eyed him warily, pulling a vortex up behind him, "Testy today eh?"

"You've got no idea." Reno snorted and let the fire fade into his hand as Demyx was swept away by the darkness. He turned back towards the castle, "You better not give me any trouble kid, I'm not in the mood today. The dragon-bitch is gonna have my ass if she finds me messing around in her castle again."

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**Author's Note: I updated faster this time! Yay! Hopefully more people will start reading this soon, it makes me sad that only a few people seem to like it. R&R!**


	6. Chapter 6

Reno wandered through the maze-like castle halls and wound his way to the basement, slashing open heartless that didn't mean him any harm on the way. As he cut through them he smiled, relishing how they burst at the seams with a flick of his chakram. The heartless didn't even turn to him as he passed, letting him cut open their fellows without any care. He was one of them in their incomprehending minds, he was just as much darkness as they were and yet he was nothing like them. It puzzled him, but he didn't dwell on it, choosing instead to put his energies into slaughtering heartless and finding his target. He searched through the damp waterways of the basement, peering around corners and looking for any sign of life that was more significant than a heartless, cutting down and burning to a crisp the heartless that came within his arms reach. It felt like it took him hours to find the newly formed nobody, but once he found him, he had a strange feeling that Xemnas had sent him for a reason.

The nobody boy was obviously scared out of his mind, gripping a large darkness and water dripping key with both hands as heartless advanced on him. Reno knew the heartless were just curious about what had stumbled out of the darkness and into their realm to slice at them, but the kid was oblivious to the lack of harm they were trying to inflict on him. He was trembling, the key in his hands shaking violently as he tried to frighten away the heartless, slashing at them haphazardly, showing his inexperience in killing the creatures when he yelped at the poof of darkness that followed each slash. Reno sighed, setting his chakram alight and passing it through the small gaggle of heartless that surrounded the nobody boy. The boy screamed and threw his hands over his head as the sharp heat passed in front of him, falling backwards and dropping his keyblade. Reno looked him over critically, fully taking in the teens appearance before acting further. Blonde hair spiked up in all directions to frame an attractive round face and blue eyes laced with fear peaked out at him from under a slim arm. The teens clothes were wet and only barely clung to his thin frame, baggy pants and shirt nearly falling off of narrow shoulders and hips, "You alright there kid?" Reno gave the kid what he hoped was a friendly and concerned smile. He could tell from the look on the nobody's face that his attempt at friendliness was not well received.

The blonde lowered his hands warily, eyeing Reno suspiciously before answering with a question, "Who're you?"

"Name's Axel." Reno grinned, still trying to seem friendly and welcoming. He extended a gloved hand to try and help his target to his feet.

The blonde looked at his hand like it might poison him, "Axel?"

"Yeah, Axel." Reno frowned and tapped the side of the teens head, "Got it memorized?" He mentally slapped himself, it was almost like he had developed a catch phrase.

The frightened blonde jumped and pushed his hand away, scrambling backwards to put distance between him and Reno, "Where are we?"

"Somewhere we should probably get out of." Reno pulled his hand back, placing it on his hip instead, "Queen o' the castle will have my ass if she finds me messin' in here again." He was only slightly deterred by the boys suspicious nature, he knew he had been even more aggravating for Saïx when he had found them. He liked the kids lack of a naive sense of trust, the hero he came from could learn a few trick about skepticism from his nobody.

"Queen?" The kid raised an eyebrow at him, looking him over behind blonde locks that drifted into his bright eyes. Reno didn't know much about the teen yet, but he knew the affect those eyes were having on him. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to keep his green-blue eyes fixated on the deep blue orbs that dripped fear and anger and something he couldn't name, something that made his pulse quicken uncomfortably. It confused him, he knew he wasn't supposed to even have the heart to pulse erratically, yet he could feel the blood pounding through his veins like never before, he had never even felt it this clearly when he was alive. It unnerved him, angered him, confused him, and he wanted more of the feeling.

"Well she runs the place, might as well be queen. Doesn't like me though, she's a witch and a piss poor one at that." Reno shrugged with a laugh, watching the blonde with confusion as he watched the teen scan him from top to bottom, still trying to understand just what emotion was running through those bright blue eyes. "You alright kid?"

The blonde jerked his head up, pulling his eyes away from Reno's body and focusing them on his face once more, "What do you want?"

"I just wanna help ya out." Reno humphed, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "If you'd rather sit in a wet basement and wait for the witch to come fry you be my guest."

The boy raised his head and surveyed his surroundings thoughtfully, glaring at Reno out the corner of his eye, "Why do you want to help me? You don't even know my name."

"I would know it if you told me." Reno grinned, feeling a sudden pang of worry. He couldn't go back empty handed and the kid didn't seem to like him already, and he still couldn't figure out what was flickering behind the fear and worry in his eyes. He didn't want to force the kid to come with him and he knew that taking the kid to Castle Oblivion right away would probably scare the kid more than anything else. It had freaked him out when he went there and he could wait to get back. He had more than enough trouble waiting for him there. He knew of at least four Organization members who wanted to beat the tar out of him for various reasons. Besides, Xemnas had specifically told him he had to make the kid like him, if he didn't do that then the entire day was a waste. The kid wouldn't be swayed as easily as Reno had been. Reno had been convinced simply because Elena had been taken in by the idea of power. He had gone where she had, concerned for her safety more than anything else, and now he regretted the worry. He'd rather be a nobody wandering around on his own than a nobody on a leash, answering to Xemnas' every whim. He had had his one chance to be free and he had blown it, determined to keep Elena safe. Too bad his sacrifice of liberty had done him no good.

"My name is..." The teen hung his head, suddenly looking very confused and lost, "I don't know."

Reno raised an eyebrow and mumbled to himself, "Demyx was right, you don't remember anything at all."

"Who's Demyx?" The kid shot him a piercing look, dripping suspicion.

"A.....friend of mine. We wanted to make sure you didn't get killed by the dragon-witch." Reno whipped around as he heard footsteps approaching, "Alright kid, we gotta scram. I don't know who's coming but I do know we definitely aren't welcome." He held his hand out, calling up a vortex behind him and pulling the kid into it with him, the portal fading just as the footsteps brought a silhouette into view.

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**Author's Note: Well, let me know what you think. If you haven't figured it out, the new nobody is Roxas. Neither of them know that yet though.**

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	7. Chapter 7

Reno fell out of the vortex, the blonde getting in the way of his normally graceful entrance to a new world. He fought to get the blonde's struggling under control, glad that for now the world they were on seemed hospitable. He still painfully remembered the last time he had burst into a world he had never been to previously. He hadn't meant to end up in this world, but it was hard to navigate through the darkness with a frightened youth pulling his hair and clawing at his face. He pinned the blonde's frail form to the ground, "Knock it off kid!"

"I'm not a kid!" The blonde spat, still fighting to free himself from Reno's hold.

"Oh yeah? Then why the hell are you acting like one?" Reno panted, exerting all his strength to keep his charge captive.

The blonde's struggling lessened considerably and he scowled up at Reno, "Because you're hurting me Axel."

Reno didn't loosen his grip, "Are you going to behave?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" The blonde glared at him and under any other circumstances Reno would have laughed at the look.

"I mean are you going to try and beat the crap out of me with that giant key thing?" Reno frowned, trying to read the thoughts showing themselves in the blue eyes below him. He couldn't tell if those thoughts were emotions or not, it was still hard for him to understand how nobodies worked, they were emotionless but very expressive. Genuine emotions, but no feelings. It made him feel like a psychopath.

The blonde seemed puzzled, "I left the thing at that wet castle place."

Reno snorted, how he would love to see Maleficent's reaction to her self-proclaimed 'glorious castle' being called 'that wet castle place'. "You could still pop it out on me at any time blondie. Personally I'd rather not hurt you but if you attack so help me Gaia I _will_ protect myself."

"Who's Gaia?" The blonde cocked his head to one side, discomfort at being pinned to the ground suddenly forgotten.

Reno laughed and got off the blonde, forgetting that only he and Larxene knew anything about Gaia, and he wasn't sure how much she chose to remember. "Don't worry about it. Let's just figure out where the heck we are."

"You don't know?" The blonde asked, incredulous.

Reno shrugged, "I would know where are if you hadn't thrown such a fit about being taken out of Hollow Bastion."

"Sorry but people don't normally get yanked into darkness like that, do they Axel?" The blonde set his hands on his hips and glared accusingly at Reno.

"You better get used to it kid, once you're trained up right you'll be able to do it too." Reno tapped the side of his head, "You better get it memorized kid, normal doesn't describe you anymore. Never did."

"What are you talking about?" The blonde growled angrily, "What do you mean I'm not normal?"

Reno sighed and ran his hand over his face, "Listen kid, do you remember anything before I found you?"

"I remember telling you I'm not a kid!" The blonde huffed irritably, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Point made then? Normal doesn't work when you don't remember what normal is." Reno chuckled and set a hand on the blonde's shoulder, "Listen blondie, I really have a limited number of things I can call you. Wanna pick a name for me so I don't hafta make one up?"

The blonde chewed his lower lip, "Pick a name?"

Reno shrugged, "Sure, just think of something that you like and I'll call ya that."

The blonde frowned in concentration, "I don't know many names though."

Reno shrugged, "You don't hafta think of it right away alright? Lets go figure out where we're at and then we'll worry more about a name."

"Can't you just poof us somewhere you know better?" The boy looked at Reno with puppy dog eyes, "Somewhere that's not so new?"

Reno sighed, "Listen kid, everything is going to be new for awhile. You'll get used to it, I promise."

"And if I don't?" The blonde huffed doubtfully, bright blue eyes boring into Reno's green ones.

Reno smirked, "Then you can pop that key out on me and kick my ass. Sound like a deal?" He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and steered him out of the room they had landed in. Reno pushed aside a large blanket that was covering the entrance to the small room and ran headfirst into a small group of teenagers.

There was a blonde boy about Roxas' height with brown eyes who was wearing, in Reno's opinion, more camouflage than any one person should ever wear. The boy shook his fist at them angrily and yelled, "What are you doin' in our spot?"

"Sorry kid, we got lost." Reno quickly covered, knowing that the 'we're visitors from another world' excuse never really went over well, people just didn't seem to believe in interplanetary travel and usually tried to throw him into an insane asylum. He remembered with humor the last time he had simply stated the truth. It had been entertaining watching that old man try to exorcise demons from him.

A brunette girl grabbed the fist the blonde raised in the air, "Hayner be nice! It's not like they knew!"

The boy called Hayner rounded on her, "Olette! Why are you siding with total strangers? They're trespassing!"

A very rotund boy with black hair spoke up, "Hayner aren't we trespassing too?"

Hayner rounded on him, "Shut it Pence! We found it first!" He turned to Roxas and Reno, "You better not have taken anything!"

"We didn't touch a thing kid, we just looked around." Reno ran a hand through the air, trying to brush off the accusation.

"I'm not a kid!" Hayner yelled angrily, his hands in raised fists.

"Yeah you are!" Olette placed her hands on her hips as she prepared to chastise Hayner for his rudeness.

"She's right you know, we are still minors." Pence backed up Olette with a laugh.

Hayner growled and turned back to Reno, "Fine whatever, just don't call me a kid alright? The names Hayner."

"So I surmised." Reno snorted, finding the entire situation rather funny. It reminded him of the arguments he used to have with Rude and Elena. He saw a lot of himself in the blonde boy in front of him, if he decided to overlook the enormous amounts of camouflage the boy was wearing.

"So what are your names?" Pence asked conversationally as Olette tried to calm down Hayner. The blonde was throwing a small temper tantrum.

"Sorry kid, not fond of introducing ourselves to strangers." Reno didn't feel the need to mention that the blonde beside him didn't _have_ a name. Being nameless definitely made introductions harder.

Pence shrugged, "Alright then. I suggest you book it though, Hayner looks like he's gonna blow a gasket. Sorry about him by the way, he's not usually like that. He had a run in with Seifer and those never end well." Reno nodded in understanding, he didn't know who this Seifer kid was but he really didn't think he needed to. He steered the gaping blonde out of the small alley and Pence turned to watch them leave, "We'll see you guys around right?"

Reno shrugged, "Don't know how long we're staying."

Olette pulled Hayner by the ear towards them, "Just one moment please, he needs to apologize."

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow! Olette you're killin' me!" Hayner whined as Olette tugged on his ear, hard.

"Apologize!" Olette released his ear with a final twist.

Hayner straightened, rubbing his ear with an angry frown, "Sorry for bein' a jerk."

Reno shrugged, "No harm no foul."

Hayner cocked his head to one side and stared at Roxas, "Can he talk?" Olette punched him in the arm.

Reno frowned and nudged the blonde in the shouler, "Course he can."

The blonde nodded and cleared his throat, "I can talk."

Hayner laughed and Olette punched him again, "Knock it off Olette!"

"You're being so rude!" Olette frowned, grabbing Hayner by the shoulder and pushing him towards Pence. She turned back to Reno and started to apologize, "I'm really sorry about him, he can be so tactless! I'll make sure he acts better next time okay?"

Reno shrugged her off, "No problem. Like I said, no harm no foul. Got it memorized?"

"Yes I do." Olette giggled and began to walk back to Hayner and Pence, "Welcome to Twilight Town!"

Reno chuckled and ushered his gaping blonde away. At least he knew where they were now. He'd never been to Twilight Town before, but he'd heard Luxord talking about it a few times and he always said something about the ice cream. "You think up a name yet?"

The blonde shut his mouth when he realized Reno was talking him, "I'm not sure Axel, it's kinda hard. Did you have to pick out your name?"

Reno shook his head, "I had to pick out my first one, but my second one was given to me."

The blonde stopped, confusion written across his face, "What do you mean by that? You've got more than one name?"

Reno sighed and looked up and down the street, checking to see if anyone was in earshot, "Listen, I didn't have any parents to give me a name so I made one up on my own when I was about four. Then I was attacked by heartless, became a nobody, joined the Organization and they gave me a new name."

"You never had parents?" The blonde asked, "So I'm not the only one?"

Reno snorted, "Of course not. There's plenty of people without parents. I raised myself and I turned out alright didn't I?"

The blonde looked him over, "So it's not weird?"

Reno gave him a sad grin, "It's still weird, but it's not a bad thing. I wouldn't be surprised if any of those kids we just met were orphans like us."

The blonde nodded sadly and started walking again. "So what was your first name Axel?"

"Reno. Stupid name eh?" Reno chuckled, trying to remember why he had picked that name.

"Reno." The blonde tested his name tentatively. "I think I like it better than Axel."

"I do too, but I can't exactly do anything about it. I probably shouldn't have even told you what my first name was, I was supposed to forget it myself." Reno fished around in his pockets for some munny, thinking he might try and get some of that ice cream Luxord always raved about.

"Why?" The blonde raised an eyebrow as he watched Reno dig through his pockets.

"Organization is run by a hard-ass called Xemnas or the Superior. Changing our names is one of the ways he keeps his control-freak tendencies appeased." Reno grinned and pulled out a few pieces of munny, rolling the golden spheres in his palm.

"Can you pick out a name for me Reno?" The blonde asked tentatively, not meeting Reno's gaze.

Reno sighed, "You gotta call me Axel blondie."

"Sorry." The blonde apologized with a blush, "Can you pick out a name for me Axel?"

Reno chewed his lower lip in thought, completely nonplussed about how he should answer. He knew it was probably not wise to call the kid by the name his original self had, especially since his original self was still walking, talking, and running through random worlds like a madman. Then inspiration struck him, "How about I give you a real nobody name?"

"Nobody? What do you mean nobody?" The blonde scratched his head, confused.

"We're both nobodies, creatures without hearts. In all technicality we can't feel emotion or truly care about anything, it may seem like you care, but you don't. When you have a real feeling, its rare but it can happen, you'll know it. It's the whole reason why I came to find you. Us nobodies hafta stick together, got it memorized?" Reno tapped the side of his head.

The blonde frowned, still confused, "Nobodies?"

Reno nodded, "Nobodies. Wanna see if you like the name I picked for ya?"

The blonde nodded vigorously, "I don't care what you call me, anything iss better than blondie or kid."

"How about Zero?" Reno raised an eyebrow, gauging the blondes reaction carefully.

"Zero." The blonde seemed to roll his tongue around the word, testing it carefully. "I think I like it."

Reno smiled and clapped his newly named Zero on the shoulder, "Well Zero I'm pretty sure I know where we are now, wanna go get some ice cream?"

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**Author's Note: Yay! Sorry it took me so long to update! It's just been a hectic time of year ya know? At least it's a long update right?**** I know it seems weird to call Roxas Zero, but for now just roll with it. I won't be calling him that for long, promise! I just had to give him an actual name 'cause I was sick of calling him, 'the blonde'.**** Anyways, R&R!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

Reno's face puckered slightly as he ate the blue salty-sweet ice cream in his hand, the conflicting flavors almost too much for his sensitive palette. Zero however, was lapping his up eagerly, a smile on his face as he happily devoured the apparently delicious treat. "It's salty." Reno wondered if the blonde had noticed.

Zero nodded, "It's sweet too! It's amazing!"

Reno chuckled and tried to eat more of his ice cream, not entirely sure if he liked it or not. "I'm not sure if amazing is the term I'd use." He should've just bought vanilla. He _liked _vanilla.

Zero laughed and finished his ice cream, tossing the light blue stick into a nearby trash bin, "If you're not gonna eat it I will."

Reno gladly handed over the melting mess, his face puckering slightly as he licked the sticky blue residue from his fingers, "Aren't you worried about cooties kid?"

"Cooties? What the heck are those Re-Axel?" Zero raised an eyebrow at him and continued to suck on his ice cream.

Reno snorted in amusement, "Never mind. Any idea what we should do now? I don't wanna go back to the Organization just yet, I'm having fun outside."

Zero paused in his rapturous munching. He pulled a flier off the side of a building, "Wanna go see what this is?"

Reno took the flier, "Struggle? What the hell?"

Zero shrugged, "Sounds kinda interesting to me."

"Sounds kinda sadist to me." Reno laughed and quickly skimmed through the flier, "Let's go see what it is."

Zero grinned and finished off his ice cream, throwing the blue stained stick in a nearby trash bin. They heard a scuffling from within the bin and Zero rushed over looking confused and frightened. A small brown blur jumped out of the trash can and sprinted down the street. Zero jumped and then followed the fluffy object, Reno close behind. "What are you doing Zero?"

"I wanna catch it!" The blonde laughed, speeding up.

"You don't know what it is!" Reno pointed out, huffing and puffing as he brought up the rear of their ragtag line.

Zero shrugged and ran on, following the creature as it ran into a small tunnel near what looked like a train station. "Hey wait up thing!"

Reno growled and chased after his rogue companion, "Zero stop!" The blonde screeched to a halt and Reno ran into him, the pair tumbling head over heels to land in a tangled heap. Reno pushed himself off of the blonde with a pained growl, wondering how he always managed to fall on top of people and never under them. "Why did you stop?"

Zero raised an eyebrow, "You told me to stop."

Reno sighed, "I didn't think you actually _would_."

The blonde shrugged, "Thats not my fault, wanna help me up? We still gotta find that thing!"

Reno ran a hand over his face, "Why do we have to find that thing?"

Zero shrugged again and sat up on his own, "I want to know what it is."

Reno jumped as he heard a small noise behind them. He quickly scrambled to his feet and spun around, a large flame balling in his fist as he prepared to attack the ambusher. He raised an eyebrow as a small cat crawled its way cautiously into Zero's lap and nuzzled its head on the blonde's leg. "A cat?"

Zero glared up at him, "Put the fire away Axel it didn't do anything!"

Reno shook his hand to put the fire out and crouched down next to Zero, "It's a cat."

The blonde picked the brown tabby up and frowned as its sides began to vibrate, "What's it doing?"

Reno chuckled and scratched the tiny cat behind the ears, "It's purring weirdo."

"Purring?" Zero looked at the cat strangely.

"It means its happy." Reno smiled as the tabby rubbed its head against his palm.

"Think it belongs to anyone?" Zero set the cat in his lap and began stroking it curiously, watching the small creature with wonder as it arched into his hand.

Reno shrugged, "It hasn't got a collar so I don't think so."

"Can I keep it?" Zero shot him a glance, his blue eyes sparkling with hope and want.

Reno sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "I don't know if the Organization would allow you to keep a pet. Xigbar would probably use this little guy for target practice and Luxord would teach it to gamble. Either way, not a very good environment for a cat."

Zero pouted, "Can I play with it while we're here then?"

Reno shrugged, "I don't see the harm."

Zero gave him a delighted grin and nuzzled his face in the cat's fur. "What should I call it?"

Reno chuckled, "Not very good at naming things are you?"

Zero stuck his tongue out at him and stood up, the sudden motion startling the cat so that it reflexively dug tiny claws into his arm as it tried not to fall. The blonde yelped and tried to pull the cat off of him, "It's full of spiky things!"

Reno quickly detached the frightened animal from Zero's arm and held it himself, wincing slightly as it decided to latch its claws into his arm instead, "You scared it. Cats do that when they're scared."

Zero rubbed his arm and timidly reached out to stroke the cat until it began purring again. Reno sighed as it pulled its claws out of his arm, "You wanna name it? How about Spike?"

"Spike it is!" Zero laughed and took the now relaxed cat back from Reno's arms, "He's purring, I think he likes that name!"

Reno ruffled the blondes hair and led him out of the tunnel and back into the town, "Lets go take Spike to that Struggle tournament you wanted to see. Sound like a plan?" Zero nodded happily as he gently fondled the tiny brown creature in his arms.

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**Author's Note: They've got a kitty! Such a silly name too! You'll have to forgive me for the seemingly random plot deviation in this chapter, but the cat is important, I promise. R&R!!!**


	9. Chapter 9

Reno smiled as Zero gaped open-mouthed at the game of sorts that was taking place in front of them. He waved a hand in front of his face, "You with me Zero?"

Zero blinked and shook his head as if to clear it, "Yeah, what?"

Reno laughed, "You're staring and you're starting to drool."

Zero quickly wiped his hand over his mouth with a frown, "I am not!"

Reno laughed, "Your cat is getting away."

Zero gasped and grabbed the cat by the tail, "Come back Spike!"

The cat hissed and clawed at Zero's hand. Reno quickly pulled Zero's arm away and shooed the cat, "Get lost ya nasty thing!"

The blonde sighed as the cat trotted away gracefully, "I thought he liked me."

"Cats don't like anybody Zero." Reno ruffled blonde spikes, "Don't worry about it okay? Just watch your game, maybe we can figure out what the rules are." Zero nodded glumly and went back to watching the game as instructed.

"Hey!" Reno whipped around quickly as two of the teens they had met earlier walked towards them.

He relaxed when he recognized them and nudged Zero in the arm, "Pence and Olette, right?"

Zero chewed his lip and nodded, "Yeah I think those were their names Axel."

Pence and Olette smiled happily at them and Olette gestured towards the game, "It's Hayner's turn next. Are you gonna root for him?"

Reno shrugged, "He any good?"

Pence nodded, "He got third place in last years tournament."

"Only third?" Reno laughed as he watched the two combatants in the ring knock each other senseless, "As angry and violent as he seems to be I'd think he'd win for sure."

Olette giggled, "No, there are angrier people out there."

"How do you tell who's winning?" Zero asked suddenly, his eyes glued to the game in front of them.

Pence blinked at him and then smiled, "You see all those blue and red things they're knocking off each other? The one with the most at the end wins. You lose if you run out."

Zero nodded his understanding, "Do you play?"

Pence laughed, "I'm no good. Can't run fast enough to get the orbs or hit hard enough to knock any off. You look like you'd be good though."

"Me?" Zero raised an eyebrow.

Reno grinned, "Think they'd let him try?"

Zero shook his head, "I don't even know the rules!"

Pence laughed, "It's simple. Hit the other guy, get the orbs, and stay in the ring. If you lose all your orbs, you lose. Simple!"

Zero frowned at the ring, "I won't be any good."

Reno ruffled his hair, "Come on Zero, you'll do fine!"

"I'll go ask if you can play!" Olette beamed and ran off, Pence trailing behind her.

"Axel I _don't_ want to do this!" Zero whined once they were out of earshot.

Reno rolled his eyes, "You were all excited about the game a minute ago."

"I wasn't playing then! It looks like it hurts." Zero winced visibly as one of the competitors was knocked to the ground, red orbs flying everywhere.

Reno laughed, "You've gotta get used to hurt kid, remember those black things? You're going to end up fighting a lot of those when you join the Organization."

Zero frowned, "I can hit those though, they don't look like people!"

"So you've got a problem hitting other people?" Reno raised an eyebrow, "You were all ready to pound me into the ground just an hour ago."

Zero blushed, "That's different, you were hurting me."

"These people will hurt you if you don't fight back." Reno gestured towards the ring where red and blue orbs were scattering in all directions.

Zero frowned as Pence and Olette came back into view, "They'll let you play!" Olette beamed and grabbed Zero's wrist, "Come on! We'll get you set up!"

Reno laughed as Zero was unwillingly dragged towards the ring and introduced to the announcer. He saw them hand him a bat and he held it nervously, his eyes darting towards Reno for support every few seconds. Reno smiled and gave him a reassuring wave, screaming, "You'll be fine."

Zero tightened his hold on the bat as the announcer called him into the ring and handed him an orb. The orb dissolved into Zero's palm and he did his best to stay calm, "What'd you do?"

The announcer smiled and explained, "Those are your orbs, you get hit and they scatter. You can just run into them and you'll pick them back up. Try to gather all your opponents orbs to win."

Zero nodded and adjusted his grip on the bat, "Okay."

The announcer stepped back and began talking, but Zero wasn't listening anymore. He wiped nervous sweat from his brow and shot Axel a worried glance, wondering why the red-head was letting him do this. Axel had been so concerned about the cat hurting him, but he was smiling and waving when he was about to have someone beat the tar out of him for a few blue shiny things? He really didn't get Axel at all, but he liked him anyways.

His opponent faced him and his arms trembled as he lifted the bat in front of him, his attempt at a fighting stance rather pitiful. He looked at Axel for some kind of hint at what he should do and Axel rolled his eyes before miming what stance he should take. Zero nodded and adjusted his stance, facing his opponent with only a slight amount of confidence.

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Author's Note: Gosh this chapter took a long time to write and post didn't it? Sorry about that. R&R! Helps me write faster ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

Reno slapped an ice pack over Zero's eye, "You weren't supposed to get hurt."

"I won didn't I?" Zero pouted as he nursed various bruises and abrasions that littered his body.

Reno sighed and continued to look Zero over, "Where does it hurt?"

"Which _it_ Axel? There's tons of them!" Zero stuck his arm out to show off the multiple bruises that purpled him.

Reno rolled his eyes and gripped Zero's arm, "What do you want me to do huh? Kiss it and make it better?" Zero blushed and opened his mouth to comment, but Pence, Olette, and Hayner saved him from replying.

"That was great Zero!" Olette grinned and bounced around him as Hayner and Pence slapped him on the shoulders, not noticing his pained winces.

"Really?" Zero raised the eyebrow that wasn't being held down with an ice pack.

"Yeah!" Hayner ruffled blonde hair and Reno glared at him as Zero winced in pain. He had been whacked around pretty good and had the marks to prove it.

"Be gentle on him kid, he's a bit fragile at the moment." Reno frowned and raised the ice pack to examine Zero's puffy eye.

Hayner rolled his eyes, "Ease up ginger its not like I'm gonna hurt him."

"Ginger?" Reno frowned and pressed the pack back to Zero's eye.

Olette quickly started to drag Hayner away as she scented danger, "Uh, we'll see you two later okay? Congratulations Zero!"

Pence chuckled and started to follow, "I swear they're gonna date someday. He needs watching and she needs someone to watch over."

"More like he needs controlled and she needs someone to control." Zero frowned and pulled the ice pack from Axel's fingers so that he could hold it himself. He couldn't understand why Axel was so worried about his eye, the rest of him hurt much worse, but he didn't really question where the ice pack was placed. He figured Axel probably knew what was best, he hadn't steered him wrong so far. He had gotten hurt fighting in that stupid Struggle match, but he had had more fun than ever. Sure he was bruised and contused, but he didn't really care. He had the strange feeling that he had had worse than just a few scrapes before but he couldn't place the odd sensation.

Pence laughed, "You don't know how right you are!" He ran after the pair who could be heard arguing several feet away.

Reno sighed and continued to look over his injured charge, "Have fun?"

Zero grinned at him, a large bruise on his cheek making the movement awkward, "Definitely!"

Reno grinned back sadly, "Hate to say it kid, but this will probably be the most fun you have for awhile."

"Why Axel?" Zero frowned, wondering if he was in trouble for getting hurt.

Reno sat beside the blonde and threw a gentle arm around his bruised shoulders, "If I don't take you back the Organization'll kill me. Working for the Organization ain't exactly fuzzy bunnies and sunshine Zero. You'll have to work and fight, but not for fun. There's a good chance you'll get hurt much worse than you are now. You were using padded bats and look how messed up you are!"

"Its not that bad Axel." Zero snorted, the feeling that he'd been hurt much worse rising up again.

Reno sighed and rubbed Zero's shoulders in as friendly a gesture as he could, "I hope to Gaia you're right kiddo."

"Who the heck is this Gaia person you keep talking about?" Zero raised his unimpeded eyebrow at him, "You kept telling me to 'hit him for Gaia's sake'. Who's Gaia? Is she a member of the Organization? Will I meet her?"

Reno chuckled sadly, "Gaia is the name of my home world. It's gone."

"Do you miss it?" Zero asked dumbly, wondering just how it felt to lose an entire world full of things you liked. He imagined it wasn't a good feeling.

Reno nodded glumly and then gave Zero a cheery smile, "I've had time to get over it for the most part Zero. How about we grab some more of that ice cream you like and head home?"

"Home?" Zero tested the word on his tongue like it had a flavor he wasn't quite acquainted with.

Reno sighed sadly and pulled Zero to his feet, "You're going to have to think of anywhere the Organization has you live as a home now. They might keep you at Castle Oblivion like me, or they could ship you off to The Castle That Never Was."

"Would they send you with me if I went to that Never Was place?" Zero sounded hopeful as he followed Axel down the narrow street.

"Don't know, we can hope though right?" Reno dug into his pocket and fished out the rest of his munny. "If I get another ice cream and don't like it are you gonna eat it for me?"

Zero licked his lips in anticipation, "Course I will!"

Reno laughed and ruffled blonde spikes as he led Zero towards the store. He hoped the salty-sweet taste of that blue ice cream would grow on him, but really he just wanted an excuse to pamper Zero a little before he would be subject to all the rules of the Organization.

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Author's Note: AUGH! I wrote this **_**months**_** ago and forgot to post it! I'm such an idiot! Oh well, you guys are lucky and get a double update today then. Enjoy!**


	11. Chapter 11

Reno scowled as he waited impatiently in front of the Castle that Never Was, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he scowled irritably. Today was supposed to be his and Roxas' day off and he had made plans to surprise his favorite blonde with a trip to Twilight Town for some of his favorite ice cream, but Xemnas had sent the teen on a routine mission at the last minute. Reno was sure Xemnas only did it to mess with him and make him angry, Xemnas liked doing that. Reno knew that Xemnas hated it when he and Roxas spent time together, their superior mistakenly thinking that the two were in a serious romantic relationship without his permission. It wasn't that Reno didn't like Roxas that way, quite the opposite in fact, but Xemnas had set strict rules about relationships that weren't just for sex in the organization. The rules had seemed very necessary after Xigbar had nearly shot Saïx to pieces when the blue-haired man had cheated on him with Larxene. Everyone knew that the strict rules were utter crap, Xemnas himself even disobeying them so that he could have a very confusing relationship with Marluxia, but since the rules were there everyone who wasn't directly told they could disobey had to toe the line without question. Reno hated the stupid rule that everyone but him was allowed to break.

Reno hated The World That Never Was almost as much as he hated Xemnas' double standards, the place seemed to reinforce the fact that he was no longer fully human. The only bright spark in all the time he spent in and around the Organization was the time he got to spend with Roxas, his formerly confused as hell Zero. Roxas was still confused as hell, but for different reasons. He now spent all the time where he was confused wondering why he didn't have memories and why he had something as special as the keyblade instead of being confused as to what his name and favorite things were. Roxas had a weird complex about the keyblade, thinking that he didn't deserve the weapon that was supposed to go to someone with a pure heart since he didn't have one. Reno always argued with him on that point, saying that Roxas had to have a heart because if he didn't, he wouldn't laugh so much. He always used Saïx and Xaldin as examples of heartless nobodies, pointing out the fact that they never found humor or pleasure in anything while Roxas absolutely loved ice cream and struggle and always laughed when Reno made fun of Seifer and his posse. At the thought Roxas would fall into talk about his favorite sport and the brooding would end.

At the naming ceremony Reno had felt a little forlorn while the name he had given Roxas was stripped away and replaced with what Xemnas wanted to call him, feeling as though that branded the short blonde as Xemnas' property. He felt like property as well, but he didn't mind as much when it was him being owned, he couldn't remember a day where he wasn't owned by someone else. First he had been owned by Shinra, and now he was owned by the Organization. There wasn't much of a difference really, if he discounted the fact that he only had one friend here instead of four. Rufus, Tseng, Rude, and Elena were all gone. Rufus, Tseng, and Rude becoming heartless' and nobodies' while Elena became the most cold hearted bitch Reno had ever know in his life. He doubted she remembered anything about Midgar anymore and he preferred to think that she didn't, feeling that the memory of that world would be sullied if she did. Even though she wasn't popular with him Larxene was very popular with the other men of the organization. Reno suspected that she would have been kicked out of the group long ago if she wasn't so willing to spread her legs. Tseng was probably rolling in his nonexistent grave.

Reno growled and shooed away the heartless that was sniffing at his foot, trying to understand why he was there when he shouldn't be. "Beat it blob!" He kicked at the thing and it scampered off, sinking into the pavement and crawling away.

"You should be nicer to them Axel." Reno brightened when he heard his name rolled off of a familiar tongue.

"Yo Roxas!" Reno stood up and dusted off his hooded trench coat, grinning like a fiery demon at his best friend. "Where ya been?"

Roxas frowned and punched Reno in the shoulder lightly. "Don't dodge the subject Axel! You should be nicer to the heartless! What if one of them is one of those old friends you talk so much about?"

Reno's shoulders slumped immediately at the reprimand, the image of Rude being a heartless sniffing at his feet too depressing to bear. Sad memories flooded his mind again, Rude's and Tseng's stoic but happy faces gazing at him from the corners of his mind.

Roxas realized his mistake as a very depressed Reno sighed and lowered his head. He chewed his lower lip and then gave his friend a brief but warm hug, a large blush covering his features when Reno raised an eyebrow at him. He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Whatcha wanna do today?"

Reno immediately brightened, his temporary melancholy falling away as his plan for the day was remembered even though the day was technically over. "Wanna go get some ice cream?" He noted Roxas' red face with a hint of amusement, the blush making him curious as to its cause. It wasn't like Roxas had never hugged him before and he had hugged Roxas on more than one occasion, but for some reason that last hug had been different from the others.

Roxas nodded vigorously and followed Reno through the portal the red-head conjured up without hesitation, the thoughts of salty ice cream and struggle lifting his mood and banishing his confusing emotions.

Reno frowned as they appeared in Twilight Town, the streets dark under the blanket of night. Roxas bumped into his arm and clung to it in confusion. "We've never poofed here at night before. Why did we come at such a weird time Reno?" Roxas hadn't called Reno by his first name in longer than Reno could remember and the slip made him smile. Roxas still remembered it even though he was supposed to have forgotten it. The blonde used it when they were alone or when he was aggravated with the red-head or frustrated with the strict rules of the Organization, but he never said it where the others could hear.

Reno shrugged and conjured a fireball in his free hand, the flame lighting the area around them. "Wanna go back or walk around for awhile?"

"Walk." Roxas gripped Reno's elbow and strained his eyes into the darkness, the fire blinding him slightly. "I don't want to go back yet, there's a breeze here."

Reno grinned and pulled Roxas along, traversing the streets they knew well with ease. They visited the town often and were fairly well acquainted with everyone that lived there, especially Hayner, Pence, Olette, and anyone who sold ice cream. Without all the people milling about Twilight Town seemed strangely empty, but neither of them cared. Reno and Roxas were simply content to be in each others company and enjoy the gentle breeze that refused to blow in the world that never was.

Roxas reckoned that he could have let go of Reno's arm at any point now that his eyes had adjusted to the thin light cast by the flickering flames in his favorite pyro's hand, but he couldn't bring himself to relinquish his tight grip. The fact that he couldn't unclench the hand that fisted Reno's sleeve made him blush furiously and made him thank Reno's Gaia that it was dark and his friend couldn't see the vicious red that attacked his features.

Reno sighed happily as he lead Roxas down the dark streets, grinning like mad as he toyed with the warm fire in his hand and made it dance. He could feel Roxas' hand on his arm but didn't feel the need to shrug it off, allowing it to stay where it was. For once Reno wasn't worried about anything, his entire being consumed simply with the actions of breathing and playing with the fire that danced around his fingers. "Sorry we didn't come when it was light out. I wanted to get you ice cream."

Roxas smiled good-naturedly and pulled the very distracted looking Reno towards the hole in the wall that would take them to the trees he loved to climb in. "It doesn't matter. Besides, I'll get fat if you keep feeding me both my ice cream and yours."

Reno sniggered and ducked through the hole in the wall, his hand held out in front of him so the flames wouldn't catch his trench coat on fire. "I don't know why but I can't make myself like the stuff. It's just too salty!"

Roxas laughed as he finally let go of Reno's arm and ran to a tree, pulling himself into its branches. "You're just too picky Reno."

Reno smirked and let his flame grow taller so that Roxas could see as he climbed to the higher branches. "You hardly ever call me Reno anymore Roxie."

Roxas flushed lightly as he pulled himself onto another branch with a grunt. "I'm not supposed to call you Reno. Isn't it bad luck or something?"

Reno chuckled and let his flame dance even higher, twisting the somewhat docile element into shapes he knew Roxas would like. A very warm bunny flickered as it cleaned red-hot ears with a flaming paw, making Roxas laugh as he pulled himself onto a branch. "Lots of things are bad luck. You spilled salt just the other day."

Roxas laughed and swung his legs gently, unable to climb any higher for fear of falling. "I threw some over my shoulder so my bad luck is nixed."

"Oh really?" Reno sniggered and turned the bunny into a large snake, coiling it to hiss hot air at Roxas. "I bet I could change that _easy_."

Roxas let the warm air rush over him with a word-induced shiver. He frowned as the snake licked at the branches around him when Reno made it dance hypnotically. "Reno you're setting the tree on fire!" Reno quickly panicked, the snake dissolving into a single flame that continued to lap at the supple leaves hanging off of the trees. Roxas scooted back on his branch to escape the heat that rolled off the growing fire. "Dammit Reno just put out the flame!"

Reno nearly slapped himself in the forehead for not doing that in the first place, quenching the fire in his hand easily. Roxas was scowling at him from the tree where several leaves still smoked and burned. "Sorry Roxie!"

"Don't sorry Roxie me! You just tried to burn up my favorite tree!" Roxas frowned and began climbing down from the tree, the still flaming leaves lighting his descent.

Reno frowned and conjured a much smaller flame in his hand. "I didn't mean to Roxas! You know how fire can get sometimes!"

Roxas dropped onto the ground and folded his arms in front of his chest moodily. His lower lip jutted forward as ashes began falling from the crisp, warm leaves above them. "You still burnt it." He pointed upward angrily. "Look! You made half of it charcoal!"

Reno sighed and put out the fire in his hand, unwilling to play with it if it let him see the look on Roxas' sad face. Unfortunately the moon was full that night and the shadows it cast set Roxas' features in an even more distinctive light. "What do I have to do to make you forgive me this time?"

Roxas laughed and leaned back against his tree, the thing labeled as his own even though it was impossible to truly own a tree. He chewed his lower lip in thought, looking at Reno through narrow eyes as he watched the red-head shift guiltily. A blush crept over his features as he thought up an unlikely answer. He cleared his throat and avoided suggesting what he actually wanted. "What do you think you can do to earn forgiveness?"

"I thought it was your choice? My pleas for forgiveness usually involve ice cream and hugs. There's no ice cream around and you don't look like a hug is gonna cut it this time." Reno gave an evil smirk as he watched Roxas blush in the dim moonlight. "Would you like me to try and kiss it better?"

Roxas turned a deep shade of scarlet before flicking his wrist and pulling up a swirling vortex of darkness that he jumped into without a second glance, his heart racing too fast for his chest to keep pace.

Reno gaped and tried to follow Roxas, but the portal closed before he could reach it. He frowned and slammed his fist into the tree sadly, the breeze Roxas had wanted to stay for mussing his hair. "Did I...Did I do something..._wrong?_"

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Author's Note: I haven't worked on this story in almost a month! Probably over a month actually! Man, I feel so neglectful now! Sorry AIBO! **

**Anywho, hopefully you liked this chappie, if you didn't let me know ^^**


	12. Chapter 12

Roxas leaned against the wall and panted hard, his heart pounding in his chest as he stared up at the starless sky above the Castle That Never Was. He wasn't sure why his heart was pounding so hard when he wasn't supposed to have one, but now that he was out of Axel's sight the throbbing sensations were starting to fade. The intensity in his chest when Axel had taken that first step towards him had made him panic and he had fled, but not before catching a glimpse of shocked, hurt green eyes. He slumped against the wall and slid down it to rest on the pavement, his eyes still skyward and somewhat unfocused.

Roxas was confused again. He was supposed to want a heart, so why when it finally kicked into life had he run? Maybe it hadn't been true emotion he had felt, but there had been something there, a shadow of something if nothing else. It had felt real, his heart beating wildly against his rib cage as if it wanted to fly out of his chest and land in the pyro's warm hands.

"Oh Roxie!" Roxas started at the taunting voice, quickly jumping to his feet and taking a defensive stance. All of Axel's warning about getting near the blonde woman he had aptly but quietly nicknamed 'Thundercunt' quickly swam to his head, and he made sure to keep his distance as she approached him with a smug smirk.

"What Larxene?" His voice was sharp and he knew it but he didn't care to hide the fact that he truly didn't like the only female nobody of his acquaintance, if Marluxia wasn't counted that is.

Larxene pouted in a way he was sure was supposed to be attractive and he was sure to some it probably was, but to him it was simply annoying. No matter how fake an emotion his annoyance was it prompted him to turn and run in the opposite direction as fast as he could so that he could escape the aggravating woman, maybe pulling up a portal to lose her in another world altogether. "Way to be rude Roxas. Got a problem with talking to me?"

Roxas bit his lip and decided that was a question he probably shouldn't answer.

Larxene's devilish grin resurfaced and she gave an overly dramatic sigh. "Seems I've stepped on a few toes. Oh well, you'll get over it eventually."  
"I doubt it." Roxas scoffed, taking a small step backwards as she advanced on him.

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Whatever you think I'm here for you can forget it. I don't want a little whelp like you so you can relax."

Roxas frowned and let some of the tension leave his muscles, but not all. "What do you want then?"

"To meddle a bit. You know how much I love to meddle Roxie." She grinned toothily and fluttered her eyelashes at him, a revolting sight to behold if ever there was one. Roxas made sure to keep the distance between them significant, he didn't want whatever she had to undoubtedly have. No one slept with as many men as she did without having _some_ sort of complication.

Larxene's face suddenly dropped its pretense for kindness and was all scorn. "It's about that little bromance of yours with dear old Reno."

Roxas' eyes widened and he felt his mouth gape. "How do you know his-"

He was cut off by mocking laughter, the sound cold and bitter. "Know his real name? I know because we come from the same world and at one point considered each other friends."

Roxas was still on edge, unsure whether he should take Larxene's explanation as truth. "If you two are friends then why do you want to meddle?"

"To make him suffer a little of course." Larxene stated matter of factly, her arms crossing so that one leaned just under her chin, thin fingers resting alongside her cheek as the others curled around her torso. "I said we were friends. We obviously aren't anymore; the little pyro is such a boring stiff nowadays. At least, he is when you aren't around."

Roxas frowned slightly and let his fingers curl and uncurl in fists at his sides. The way she talked about Reno in front of him made him sick and angry for reasons he couldn't quite comprehend. He didn't deign to acknowledge her with words as he didn't know what his unwieldy tongue would try to spit at her.

She smirked, sensing that she had touched a nerve. "He used to be lots of fun, but now he's just a dickhead thanks to you."

"Don't talk about him like that!" Roxas swung a fist at her in his anger, immediately regretting the action as she grabbed his wrist and gave him a debilitating shock that brought him to his knees beside her.

She frowned down at him, triumph in her eyes. "It's more than just a little friendliness between you two isn't it?"

"It's none of your business!' Roxas shouted angrily, knowing that his answer gave her all the evidence she needed to prove her theory correct.

She smirked and gave him another shock, this one pulling a pained cry from his lips as he struggled to free his hand. "I've made it my business Roxie dear. Did you think you could keep your silly little infatuation with each other a secret for long? Even if I can only see it because I've known him for so long, the others will figure it out soon if they haven't already."

"What do you want Larxene?" Roxas heard his voice shake with pain as his oversensitive nerves began to throb and twinge. Of all the feelings that were fake, why did the pain have to be so damned real?

Her lips curled upwards and she leaned down to whisper in his ear. "I want to ruin it for you both, to make you both suffer. I know you two can actually feel around each other, not just these cheap imitations that the rest of us get, you guys get _actual_ feelings. I don't like it. Call me a jealous bitch, but I don't think you should get what I've been denied time and time again."

"Larxene!" Reno's voice was crisp and cold unlike the ash covered and warm chakram level with Larxene's narrowed eyes.

"Good evening to you too Reno." Larxene smirked evilly as she turned to face Roxas, one twitching wrist still held in her grasp as a threat of sorts if Axel even dared to touch her.

Reno winced visibly, his lips growing tight as he listened to Roxas' somewhat labored breathing and watched his small body twitch in pain. "You know better than to bring up the past Elena, it's only brought us pain."

It was Larxene's turn to wince, her hand clenching tighter on Roxas' wrist until he whimpered. She quickly regained her composure and turned her voice silky and sweet. "You don't remember having any fun in Midgar? Was Shinra just completely joyless for you? Don't you miss killing innocents and threatening your friends because someone else says they're your enemies?"

Roxas jerked his head up and stared blankly at the display of open hostility between the two, hoping that Axel would say something to defend himself against such outrageous accusations.

Reno had no choice but to disappoint the small blonde boy however, his eyes narrowing to thin slits as he lowered his voice to a menacing growl. "You did the same thing. You still do the same thing. The only difference there ever was between us was that you enjoyed it. You enjoyed every minute of it."

"And you didn't?" Larxene's voice had turned sickeningly sweet as if she relished the pain she was inflicting on both of them with her words, the wrist trying feebly to pry itself from her grasp getting no attention as she continued to shove a knife in Reno's back like she had longed to do for years. "Dropping the plate and crushing all those insignificant fools waiting beneath so that you could stay alive had no appeal to you whatsoever? Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Larxene's grip tightened on Roxas' wrist until he cried out, his eyes shining with unshed tears of pain as she unknowingly coursed electricity into his body in small jolts to accentuate her every word. "You wouldn't have smiled so much if you hated it. Tseng and Rude hated it and everyone knew it from the look on their faces, but you and me didn't give a damn what our consciences said about what it took to stay alive. You may not have signed up to be a killer for hire, but you certainly seemed to enjoy it." Her piece said, she released the now whimpering Roxas from her grip and stalked off, a pleased smile on her lips and a swagger in her steps as far worse plans formed in her mind.

Roxas let himself fall sideways onto the ground as he waited for the crippling pain that sent his limbs thrashing to stop pounding through his veins. He registered the warm comforting hands on his face and shoulders, the gentle pets trying to soothe the hurt away as his pain-fogged brain tried to comprehend what it had just heard. No one could ever take what Larxene said without a grain of salt, not unless they truly wanted to be considered naïve. So far Demyx was the only one stupid enough to take everything Larxene said for truth and Roxas did not want to end up the way Demyx had, he was already as low on the totem pole as he could get and going lower wasn't an option. Still, as his limbs twitched and ached with cruel pain while Reno scooped him up in his arms and cradled his jerking body against his warm chest he had no choice but to consider what she had said.

As the spasms passed and Roxas grew still and shivering in his arms Reno sighed with relief. The terror that had gripped his whole body slowly started to relinquish its hold when Roxas didn't turn into an insubstantial wisp of smoke in his arms. He rocked back and forth with the abused blonde boy whimpering in his arms, desperate to clench his fingers around the throat of another blonde who swaggered away slowly. "I'm so sorry I didn't get here in time Roxie, so so sorry!"

Roxas blushed as the top of his head was nuzzled by a warm cheek, the sensation sending his heart jumping again and this time not because more electricity than one body was supposed to hold was forcing it to move. He decided then and there that he had a genuine fear of Larxene now, her cruel smirk and unrelenting attacks both verbal and physical giving him reason to shudder violently. While the pain lasted what she had done would matter to him more than what she had said, but the curiosity forced him to be blunt with the man cradling him tenderly against his chest. "Was any of it true?"

Reno sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, Roxas still shivering and panting under his gentle hands. "Yeah, there was some truth in that." He had no intention of lying to Roxas about something so important; the petite blonde was already confused enough as it was without more lies twisting up his thoughts. "I used to be a killer for hire. I was one of the bad guys in my old world. I killed and betrayed more people than I even want to think about. Elena was wrong though. Not once did I ever enjoy hurting people who didn't deserve it. The people who did deserve it; the criminals, rapists, drug dealers, crime lords, and the mad men, they were the only people I enjoyed getting rid of. I did what I had to to stay alive; I had no choice in the matter."

Roxas nodded understandingly as he continued to twitch, a few pained tears finally rolling down his cheeks as his abused nerves refused to stop torturing him. "Why did she get so mad?"

"That's just what she does." Reno set his hand under Roxas' chin and pulled the twitching face up to where he could see it. He smiled kindly and wiped away one thin tear that rolled down a jerking cheek. "How bad does it hurt?"

Roxas choked on words as a warm thumb brushed across his face, the leather glove pressing gently up on his chin making him want to tilt it back still further until his neck was completely exposed to the smiling lips that rested just at eyelevel. "B-bad."

Reno sighed and stood, picking Roxas up in his arms and flicking a portal open with one hand, unable to carry the twitching and jerking body very far. He stepped through the blackness into a different kind; the lights in his room had been extinguished a long time ago. His feet gently guided him towards his bed and he laid Roxas on it before searching for the light switch, the boy's own inner radiance giving his features a soft, ethereal glow. He tucked Roxas into the bed and sat next to him for awhile, joking lightly to bring a smile back to the pained face that made his heart wring itself in a different kind of pain.

When Roxas was finally able to fall asleep Reno stormed from the room, anger clear on his features as he shut the door quietly behind him. There was a certain blonde called Thundercunt who needed fixing, and he was determined to do just that.

A few small snips; that was all it would take to render her a complete and utter recluse for weeks to come. Reno relished the idea of her shriek of horror tearing through the castle the next morning. She would know exactly who had removed the majority of her short blonde hair, the yellow strands slowly smoldering in his hands as he slipped back to his room, but he didn't care so long as it kept her in her room and as far away from Roxas as was physically possible. He knew Roxas wouldn't actively seek her out, not after what she had just done to him, but he had a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that no matter what either of them did she would try to reach him again. Reno wasn't sure what he had done to earn her anger, but it had taken only a few minutes for her to earn his for the rest of their miserable, supposedly emotionless lives.

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**Author's Note: Damn, I just don't update this story as often as I should! I'm not sure what it is, but this story just doesn't demand my attention as much as the others do. I usually spare at least a few thoughts for it while thinking up ridiculous plot lines, but I never seem to actually sit down and **_**write**_** it. Please forgive the horrendously long wait and the other long waits that are to come but I shall endeavor to update this more often from here on out. I've probably said that before, I'm almost 100% sure I have actually, but this time I really think I should consider doing what I say I will.**

**Thank you to all who read, favorite, alert, or review this story! I appreciate your support more than you know!**


	13. Chapter 13

**NOTE:This chapter contains mature content not meant for the immature. Do not read if yaoi makes you uncomfortable or angry. Don't say you weren't warned.**

Reno wandered into the castle, irritation and weariness plain on his face. He had been struggling with errant heartless for hours and he was sick and tired of slicing and burning the pudgy bags of darkness; after the first hundred or so the pleasure in winning goes away and the irritation set in. A few other members of the Organization were scattered around the hall, their faces mirroring the weariness on his own. Reno ignored the few hails he received and stomped up to his room. There were only two people he cared about hearing from right now; Roxas and Larxene. He cared about hearing from Roxas because he actually enjoyed being around Roxas. He cared about hearing from Larxene because if he did then it meant her hair had grown back and she was ready to kick his ass for the weed-whacker job he had done. Reno no longer thought of her as Elena, Elena had joined Rude and Tseng in the realm of the dead and Larxene was simply Larxene.

Reno slipped off his hooded robe after slamming his door shut behind him, facing the trying decision between showering and flopping down on his unkempt bed to sleep. As a glob of heartless fluid, they didn't really have blood so he wasn't sure what to call the substances that splattered onto him when he sliced them open so fluid worked just fine for him, started to wiggle around in search of more globs he decided it was best to shower and wash off the dark spots so he didn't wake up in a den of heartless. He hated how some heartless simply exploded into clouds of darkness when he sliced through them, while others splattered odd fluids onto everything in sight. He hated the juicy ones.

He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, snatching his soaps and shampoos from one of his only cupboards before making his way to the showers. He thought it was pretty stupid that no one but Xemnas had a shower of their own, but he didn't care enough to make a complaint about it. He supposed he probably should have brought spare clothes, but no one really seemed to care if he walked around half naked or even fully naked; so it wasn't a big issue. He liked a nice breeze anyways.

Reno shivered as his feet slapped against the slightly damp tile floors, his towel sliding to the floor as he made his way to the row of showerheads lining one of the gray tiled walls. He briefly considered setting it on a towel rack like he was supposed too, but decided that he didn't give a damn. In fact, he couldn't give a damn because his give a damn was broken and he didn't have any spare parts to fix it. The shower he was about to take would probably help with the stress pushing his shoulders down and cricking up his neck.

Reno set his soaps in a neat line on a wall length shelf set into the tiled wall of the showers, pulling the white curtain around the small area he wanted to stake out as his own to create a small bit of privacy for himself. He might not mind people seeing him naked, but he didn't want people to stare at him while he showered; it gave him stage fright. Besides, the last thing he needed to do was drop the soap in full view of everyone; he might be as straight as a circle, but he still didn't want an uninvited visitor knocking at his back door. As alone as he was in the shower rooms at that moment, he knew that in a place with thirteen people who had all been sent out on missions similar to his; it was very likely that someone else would want a shower while he was taking his.

The water was chilled, but since Reno was constantly feeling like a well-roasted duck because of his new internal fire, he didn't mind one bit. He hummed softly as he soaped himself, letting the dark blobs coating him slide off and gather at the drain. The cool water relaxed his shoulders and the crick in his neck stopped making him feel so stiff. He scrubbed at his scalp viciously, forcing the shampoo through his thick red locks. He rinsed his hair and lathered it up again, determined to make sure his head was clean; he didn't need to find big globs of heartless juice in his hair when he was done.

He cursed loudly as shampoo splashed into his eyes, blinding him as it stung his eyes. He scrubbed at his face to try and remove the shampoo, but since his hands were still bubbly from scrubbing his hair he was only pushing more soap into his eyes. He turned his face to the water, waiting for relief as it pushed layers of soap from his eyes. The curtain was pulled back and he yelped as he was pinned against the wall; eyes burning more as he moved away from the water. "What the hell!"

A small laugh sounded in his ear as an arm pressed against his shoulders, pinning his stinging face against the wall. "Easy, Axel, if you struggle neither of us will have much fun."

"Luxord? Get the hell off me!" Reno shut his eyes to keep the soap still streaming from his hair from pouring into them, a small growl coloring his voice. Of course it would be Luxord who interrupted his shower time to rape him; the drunkard did it to Demyx all the time. The only difference was, Demyx actually _liked_ Luxord. Reno supposed Demyx's willingness made it impossible to call Luxord's actions rape, it was more like surprise sex. He, however, was going to call it rape because he didn't want it.

Luxord pressed against him, putting his lips close to his ear. "Demyx won't be back until tomorrow and I'm needy. You get to be his replacement for tonight."

Reno squirmed and tried to punch Luxord, but it was hard to punch someone who was behind him when his shoulders were forced to stay straight. "If you want a replacement go screw Marluxia! He actually likes having something shoved up his ass!"

Luxord chuckled and forced his legs apart, keeping his shoulders pressed firmly against the cold tiles. "I'd rather not screw the grim reaper's homosexual cousin. He's a bit too flowery for my tastes. I like someone with a little bite to them."

Reno growled and kept shooting his elbows and fists backwards, "Come close to my mouth and I'll show you bite!"

"I'd rather take you from behind if you don't mind, Axel." Luxord hummed and pressed into him, not waiting for Reno to adjust to the intrusion before he started thrusting.

Reno cried out in pain as his backside was torn open; he could feel his insides splitting more with each move Luxord made. Luxord most likely thought that the pain would render him incapable of fighting back, and for a moment it did, but despite the pain Reno started thrashing and punching, lashing out at any part of Luxord he could reach.

Luxord held him as still as he could, thrusting and groaning in frustration as Reno's squirming made it difficult for him to enjoy what he was doing. "Dammit, Axel! Hold still!"

Reno continued to struggle, gaining a small bit of satisfaction from Luxord's frustration. He tried to burn the man, but the water put out the fire as it reached his skin and all he was doing was creating steam. He was pissed. He wanted Luxord out of him, he wanted his ass to stop hurting, and he wanted the damned soap out of his eyes. He whimpered in pain, more concerned with the pain brought by the soap than by the slowly fading pain shooting up from his nether regions. His struggling was doing nothing, Luxord was obviously going to continue whether he let him or not. He set his hands against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut tight, sick of wasting energy on trying to force the man out of him; he would simply beat him to death afterwards.

Luxord adjusted the showerhead as Axel stopped struggling, moaning softly as his uncomfortable tightness started to relax around him. "There you go, Axel. Just relax and this'll be better for us both."

Reno turned his face to the water, sighing in relief as he scrubbed the soap from his eyes. As Luxord moved he growled weakly, forehead pressed against the tile wall. "I'm going to kick your ass for this, Luxord."

"I'm a gambling man, I know the risks." Luxord purred into Axel's ear happily, thrusting more gently now that Axel had stopped fighting him. He would try to make the fiery red-head enjoy his attentions, but knew that he'd need to keep his distance and watch his back for weeks to come; Axel was known for his cruel vindictiveness.

Reno whimpered and didn't reply, focusing only on making the best of the situation. He didn't hurt so badly anymore, Luxord wasn't being as rough with him, and he had to admit that he was starting to get pleasure from it. He tried to ignore it, but as he lay against the wall and let Luxord use him he couldn't deny the slowly building pleasure that his mouth was betraying. Small mewls of pleasure started coloring his pants and when Luxord's mouth moved down his neck, he didn't object. As Luxord started moving faster he groaned, hanging his head in shame as he started pumping himself. He was glad they were the only ones using the shower room, since Luxord had ripped the curtains back they were in full view of anyone who entered. He didn't want anyone to see him like this; pressed against the wall and moaning. He was humiliated, but Luxord would pay the price for it.

A small gasp from behind them made Reno pale, he hadn't heard the door open, but he certainly heard it close behind the unfortunate soul who had decided to use the showers. He twisted slightly, having difficulty because of the arm still pressed against his shoulders; Luxord might be stupid enough to think he'd enjoy rape, but he wasn't so stupid that he'd let him up once he thought he enjoyed it. He paled even more once he caught sight of the person who had caught sight of him, bright blue eyes fixated on them and tearing up in confusion and pain. Reno quickly tried to pushed Luxord off him; he had to explain the situation before those blue eyes started crying. He didn't want Roxas to cry.

Luxord sighed mid-moan and shoved Axel into the tile as he struggled. "I thought we already talked about this? You can kick my ass after; right now focus on getting fucked."

Reno growled viciously and squirmed as his face was pressed against the tile, wincing as an uncontrolled moan ended the noise. He could hear Roxas running back out and when the door slammed he heard a choked sob. Luxord purred into his ear, his voice showing the grin Reno could not see. "Our audience is gone now; you can go back to enjoying it."

Reno shut his eyes and shook softly with pleasure, feeling suddenly, horribly sick. He wanted to vomit, but if he did now he'd only end up making himself more of a mess. He couldn't explain things to Roxas covered in vomit; it simply wouldn't help matters any. He waited for Luxord to finish, all pleasure fading as the nausea grew in his stomach, reaching its peak of stomach wrenching pain as Luxord splattered his insides.

As Luxord panted and recovered, face pressed against the shaking back in front of him, Axel resumed his struggle to get away. Luxord tried to hold him down, but in his ecstasy weakened state he couldn't keep him pressed against the wall. Luxord pulled out before the red-head decided to rip it off and made a hasty retreat, ripping the curtains as he pulled them back around Axel's 'stall'. As soon as Axel turned the water off, fire pillars started popping out of the ground indiscriminately and Luxord was unable to avoid getting burned as he rushed from the room. The blonde didn't even bother to grab his towel; he felt that running through the castle nude and only partially cooked was a better option than being unable to run through it at all.

Reno knelt on the floor after he heard the door slam, shaking legs unable to support his weight. He could feel the torn flesh in his backside bleeding, or maybe he was just leaking. Either way, he was disgusted. He leaned against the wall heavily, his knees protesting his decision to make them his feet. He let the fires subside and shook, resisting the strong urge to weep through force of will alone. All he had wanted was a shower, and now he had a broken ass and a lot to explain. He would never forgive Luxord for doing this to him, and Roxas would probably never forgive him. At that thought, Reno let the tears start falling, turning on the shower to hide them from himself.

**Author's Note: Well, it's chapter 13 so I figured it was time for something even more ridiculous and bad to happen and I figured I should probably update since I haven't done so since July. Sorry for the wait between chapters, this story is hard to write and it gets harder the longer I put it off so by having months and months and months between chapters I'm really not helping anybody. Please give me and suggestions for furthering the story. **


	14. Chapter 14

Reno couldn't manage to drag himself off the floor; the pain of his humiliation mixed with his torn ass had taken away most of his will to move. All he could do was sit on the floor under the icy water of the shower and cry. He didn't have energy for more. It was bad enough that Luxord had forced himself on him; did Roxas have to see too? _Someone in charge must really hate me_, he thought as he let the water stream over his face. Reno was going to _kill_ that raping bastard if it was the last thing he did. Luxord would pay for his pain ten times over.

Reno was too absorbed with thoughts of revenge too hear the door to the shower-room open again and he was too humiliated to look up when the shower curtain parted, revealing his naked shame to anyone who wanted to see. "Don't stare, just take a picture and go away." His voice was choked and had little venom in it, but he made it sound as spiteful as he could.

"I don't want a picture." Roxas turned the water off shakily, eyes focused on Axel's face. "I want to know what happened."

"Luxord fuckin' raped me." Reno pressed his forehead against his knee, hiding his face and other areas as best as he could. He wanted Roxas to go away, but didn't have the heart to tell him to do so.

Roxas knelt by Axel, not caring that he was getting his pants wet. "Want me to stab him for you?" Roxas wasn't sure how he would manage to do it, but he would give Luxord as much hell as he could for what he did to Axel. No one deserved the treatment Axel had gotten from the blonde bastard and Roxas would set things straight if he could.

Reno looked up hesitantly, shoving hair out of his eyes with the flat of his hand. "You're not mad?"

"Not at you, Axel. Luxord is gonna get his ass kicked though." Roxas slammed his fist into his palm viciously, wishing his palm were Luxord's face.

Reno blinked and then laughed shakily, "You look so damn stupid when you're trying to be violent."

Roxas blushed and lightly punched Axel's shoulder, "Do you want help with payback or not?"

Reno nodded and wrung the water out of his hair, feeling significantly better now that he knew Roxas didn't hate him. "Course I do. I'll take whatever help I can get."

Roxas smiled and stood, offering Axel his hand. "Then let's go trash his room and get some ice cream. We can plan mean things to do to him at the clock tower."

Reno smiled and took Roxas' hand, shakily pulling himself to his feet. "That sounds good to me, kiddo. Let's go."

Roxas smiled and held Axel's hand as he lead him out of the shower, determined to spend the next few weeks giving Luxord as much hell as possible. If anyone tried to stop them then they would get hell too. Roxas had never been a trouble-maker before, but just thinking of vandalizing Luxord's room made him grin with malicious glee. He and Axel would have the time of their lives being delinquents and he could hardly wait to get started.

* * *

**Author's Note: This story is done. There is absolutely nothing that will ever make me want to write a cross-over ever again. I totally screwed this story up by not writing it all the day I thought it up and it's gone downhill since chapter one in my opinion. Hopefully you all can forgive me for shoving out something that's not up to par with my other works. I'm going to chalk it up to experience and end it now before I can make it any worse. You've got your happy ending, be happy. **


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